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Sehar
Depicting realism on the big screen is an effort that needs to be
lauded, but getting too technical about it and using jargon/lingo that
is difficult to comprehend by the commoner can boomerang. That's the
problem with SEHAR, directed by Kabeer Kaushik.
SEHAR has a one-dimensional plot, which may sound interesting on paper,
but when translated on celluloid, it just doesn't appeal. The plot and
setting may've excited the storytellers [the director, the writer, the
producers, the actors], but it may not necessarily excite a moviegoer
seeking entertainment-driven content.
Besides, SEHAR may be an honest effort that chronologically documents
the life of a heroic cop and his fight against a gangster who spread
terror in a state [U.P.], but neither are the incidents well-known to
the majority nor the gangster so notorious that it would make the viewer
bite his nails to watch the real characters get immortalized on reel.
SEHAR delineates the journey of a newly-appointed 31-year-old S.S.P. of
Lucknow, Ajay Kumar [Arshad Warsi], instrumental in bringing together a
group of committed police officers under the aegis of Special Task
Force.
The Force, bequeathed with a single agenda, succeeds in challenging the
might of organized crime in Uttar Pradesh.
And in the process, what unfolds is the ever-changing dynamics of Uttar
Pradesh's siyaasat: Railway contracts, ISI involvement,
politician-mafia-police-builder nexus, rigid red-tapeizm and
criminalization of University students.
The problems with SEHAR are manifold…
- One, the cop versus criminal saga has been beaten to death by
Bollywood film-makers. KHAKEE, AAN, POLICE FORCE, DEV, KAGAAR, AB
TAK 56, SATYA BOL, GARV and ZEHER [the list is endless!], there has
been a deluge of 'men in uniform' films in the recent past. The plot
and setting may vary, but the essence remains the same.
- The director has taken care to present the facts in the most
realistic fashion, but the narrative being one-dimensional it gets
cumbersome and boring after a point. All you get to see are cops
chasing gangsters, spraying bullets and butchering them in the most
brutal fashion or gangsters chasing commoners and eliminating them
in broad daylight. Sorry, the blood and gore gets on your nerves
after a point!
- Three, the rise of a gangster, the politician-gangster nexus,
the police encounters, SEHAR comes too late in the day. Hasn't the
moviegoer witnessed all this and more in the past?
SEHAR disappoints big time as far as the content is concerned. There's
not much meat in the narrative to keep the viewer glued to the screen
for the next 2.30 hours. Even the execution of the subject caters to a
tiny segment of viewers. The local flavor restricts its appeal further.
SEHAR has just one song [the romantic track], but the song and even the
romance bit looks forced in the narrative. Perhaps, the director wanted
to balance realism with make-believe, but the romantic bit looks
completely out of sync.
Any redeeming points? Yes, a few deft strokes, especially the climax,
filmed in a moving train. Prior to that, the sequence when the cops
rescue a kidnapped kid from the clutches of the gangsters is well
executed.
The thrills here are not those involving fisticuffs, but using pistols.
Cinematography is up to the mark. The background score is alright.
Dialogues gel well with the mood of the film.
Cast in a serious role, Arshad Warsi gets into the skin of the character
and proves his versatility as an actor. But post MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. and
HULCHUL, the actor's image is more of a funster than a serious cop and
that will come as a shocker to his hardcore fans. Mahima Chaudhary has
been cast for the glamour bit than taking the story forward. Pankaj
Kapoor is noteworthy. Sushant Singh does his part effectively. Suhasini
Mulay is first-rate.
On the whole, SEHAR is a dull and dry subject that will appeal to a very
thin segment of moviegoers. At the box-office, however, it will be a
non-starter.
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